An employee of
Zenith Bank Plc, Brenda Ihekoromadu, confirmed on Monday that her superior,
Miss Rita Ifeadi, who appeared as a witness in the ongoing trial of a former
Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency,
Patrick Akpolokemi, has been sacked.

Ifeadi, who
was the manager of the Zenith Bank’s branch at Bar Beach, Victoria Island,
Lagos, had on March 3, 2016 appeared as a prosecution witness before Justice
Ibrahim Buba of a Federal High Court in Lagos, where Akpobolokemi and five
others were facing trial for an alleged fraud of N2.6bn in NIMASA.

Ihekoromadu, a
subordinate to Ifeadi, affirmed on Monday that Ifeadi was no longer in the
employment of the bank.

She said this
while testifying on Monday before Justice Raliat Adebiyi of a Lagos State High
Court in Igbosere where Akpobolokemi and six others were facing trial for a
separate alleged fraud ofN754.7m in NIMASA.

She made the
disclosure while fielding questions from one of the defence counsel, Mr. Lanre
Olayinka, who was cross-examining her.

Olayinka had
during the proceedings confronted Ihekoromadu with some documents which the
court had earlier admitted as exhibits and asked her to give the true position
of things, reminding her that Ifeadi had earlier given evidence on the
documents before Justice Buba.

You are aware
that she (Ifeadi) gave evidence for the EFCC before the Federal High Court?”
Olayinka asked.

“I know she
was in court,” Ihekoromadu.

“You know she
was sacked the day after she gave evidence for the EFCC; she was dismissed for
forgery as published on your (Zenith Bank) website?” Olayinka asked.

“I know she
has been dismissed. I am not aware of what date,” Ihekoromadu said.

Ifeadi had, in
her testimony before Justice Buba at the Federal High Court on March 3,
narrated how some accounts were opened in her branch of Zenith Bank in the name
of NIMASA’s contractors but operated by the employees of the agency.

She had
narrated in court how in the course of marketing and sourcing for customers,
she went to NIMASA and met one of the defendants, Capt. Ezekiel Agaba, who was
an Executive Director at NIMASA, asking him whether the agency needed to open
any account.

According to
her, Agaba had told her that the agency had no need to open any account at the
time but she offered to drop some account opening forms with Agaba, who in turn
promised to call her anytime there was such a need.

She said Agaba
later called her and she went to collect duly completed account opening forms
for the purpose of opening accounts for NIMASA.

One of the
accounts, she said a corporate account opened in the name of Aroward Consulting
Services to which Philip Enuesike and Ima Udo were signatories.

She, however
said she never set eyes on the signatories, adding that the cheque book for the
account was received by Agaba’s aide, Ekene Nwakuche, who she claimed came at
several times to withdraw N3m.

Meanwhile, a
bureau de change operator, Wakili Daudu, told Justice Raliat Adebiyi on Monday
how through one Mohammed Darlington he helped Agaba to change N93.3m to US
dollars.

Daudu who
spoke through an interpreter, said, “I don’t know anybody in NIMASA and I have
never bided for any contract in NIMASA but millions of naira was paid into my
account.”